Of course there is something to be said for hitting TIFF as a director for the first time. A sea of expectation lies before you, undeniably waiting to swallow you whole as reviewers are poised to employ words like "pedestrian" and "amateurish" to describe your work, but no matter the outcome, you’ll always remember your first.

Luckily, there are plenty of emerging talents who deserve to be singled out as they mark their inaugural participation at TIFF behind the camera.

But videogames — the success rate of games-into-films ranks right up there with BP’s ability to cap a gushing undersea oil well. Shout Wing Commander or In the Name of the King: A Dungeon Siege Tale at a party full of Hollywood executives and watch them scurry to the nearest exit.

Then there’s the Resident Evil franchise. This month the series’ fourth film, Resident Evil: Afterlife, hits screens. While the films don’t break box-office records, they continue to be profitable and boast a very loyal fan base.

Why? Credit the quality and popularity of the games themselves — which focus on human survivors battling zombies created by a virus unleashed by the nasty Umbrella Corporation — and credit the series star, Milla Jovovich, a model-turned-actor-turned-ass-kicker.

Piers Handling, TIFF's CEO and director was accompanied by Ward 20 Councillor Adam Vaughan who officially named the spot, located on King Street, between John and Widmer, in honour of the pioneering film lovers who came to Canada from Czechoslovakia after WWII.

“Leslie and Clara persevered through hardships to bring their family to Canada and create a life for them,” said Handling. “Ivan, Agi [Mandel] and Susan [Michaels] recognition of their parents’ commitment and vision has played a vital role in the realization of this dream, building a home for film at TIFF Bell Lightbox. On behalf of the Board of Directors, the staff and film lovers from around the world, we are delighted to dedicate Reitman Square to Leslie and Clara.”

Sure, we're known as the place to check out new movies on the big, big screen but now we're here to let you know how to get your entertainment fix at home.
The Cineplex DVD Store boasts over 25,000 titles, from the newest hits to golden oldies, indie fare, comedy discs and even your favourite TV shows. Come back here every Tuesday to find out what new movies are on sale and how many SCENE points you can earn with each purchase. 
So what are you waiting for?
Get your fill of Hollywood at home with this week's list of the hottest DVD and Blu-ray releases. You can thank us later.

George Clooney's hitman tale The American has captured the top spot at the box office with a (US)$16.4 million debut over the long Labour Day weekend.

Since opening Wednesday, the Focus Features release has taken in $19.5 million.

The 20th Century Fox revenge romp Machete and Sony's heist thriller Takers were in a duel for second-place.

Machete led with $14 million from Friday to Monday. Takers followed with $13.5 million, though the two movies were close enough that rankings could change once final numbers are released Tuesday.

The weekend's other new wide release, Drew Barrymore's romance Going the Distance from Warner Bros., opened at No. 5 with $8.6 million.

It was a typically quiet Labour Day period for Hollywood, a transition weekend as summer blockbuster season ends and young audiences prepare for the start of the school year.

Hollywood closed its busiest season with record revenue of $4.35 billion, about $100 million more than the previous high set last summer, according to Hollywood.com, which tracks box office. Yet because of higher ticket prices, movie attendance slipped to about 552 million, the lowest since summer 2005, said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian.

Somewhere, which made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival, is the story of a movie star, played by Stephen Dorff, who comes to see the emptiness of his existence through the eyes of his 11-year-old daughter, a role performed by Elle Fanning.

Like Lost in Translation, which Coppola also premiered in Venice in 2003, Somewhere takes place nearly entirely in hotels, mostly the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles, one of the places the director remembers staying with her famous father, Frances Ford Coppola.

"We spent a lot of time growing up living in hotels when we were on location with my Dad. I always like when you are living in hotels; it's like a world unto itself," Coppola said.

It sounds like some sort of time-management voodoo. With a toddler in tow, Jessica Alba claims to have maximized her quality time while doing more movies than ever — four this year alone. The secret: small, but eye-catching parts in lieu of starring roles. In her latest, Robert Rodriguez’s gritty, campy Grindhouse spin-off Machete, she even plays twins, doubling the payoff.

“It was cool, it was crazy, it was fun,” Alba says of Machete during a recent L.A. interview. The film stars craggy-faced Danny Trejo as the title character, a Chicano hired gun who’s double-crossed when he’s assigned to assassinate an immigrant-hating U.S. politician (Robert De Niro), and is based on a fake movie trailer Rodriguez produced as filler between his movie and Quentin Tarantino’s in the B-movie double-bill Grindhouse. Machete’s tagline: “They just fu--ed with the wrong Mexican!”

Producers announced Thursday the casting for "Elling," which will arrive on Broadway in November. It will begin performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on Nov. 2 and open Nov. 21.

"Elling," adapted for the English stage by Simon Bent, is based on the Norwegian novels of Ingvar Ambjornsen. The books, about a pair of roommates, were previously made into the 2001 Oscar-nominated movie by the same name.
O'Hare will play the compulsive title character and Fraser will play the enthusiastic Kjell. It will be Fraser's Broadway debut, though the actor has performed on the stage in London.

Darren Aronofsky sees his newest film Black Swan as the companion piece to The Wrestler.

Black Swan made its world premiere as the opening film at the Venice Film Festival's 67th edition on Wednesday, bringing the American director back on the Lido, where The Wrestler won the top Golden Lion prize two years ago.

"The more I looked into the world of ballet, I actually started to see all these similarities to the world of wrestling," the 41-year-old Aronofsky said at a news conference. "They both have these performers that use their bodies in sort of extremely, intense physical ways. Their entire performance is based on intense physicality."

The psychological melodrama is set in the world of New York City ballet and stars Natalie Portman as a perfection-seeking ballerina keen to win the role of prima-ballerina now that the long-reigning star is retiring. She is smothered by her overprotective mother, played by Barbara Hershey, a former dancer who, in one of many dichotomies in the film, may be acting out of concern for her daughter's well-being or jealousy over her success.

Aussie Oscar winner Russell Crowe reunites with visionary Gladiator director Ridley Scott to reveal the untold story of outlawed English hero Robin Hood. This heart-pumping action adventure, written by Brian Helgeland (Mystic River, L.A. Confidential, A Knight's Tale) and co-starring the lovely Cate Blanchett, transports viewers to the medieval battlefields of 13th century England and serves as a prequel to the popular tale chronicling the archer’s rise to legendary hero.

Cineplex.com got a chance to sit down with actors Kevin Durand and Alan Doyle, who play a few of Robin Hood's right-hand Merry Men, to talk about the film prior to its DVD release.

Despite what the thermometer may currently be telling us, the sweltering heat won’t last forever and when the mercury starts to dip, that means not only a serious wardrobe overhaul but a stellar lineup of new movies is on the way. And what makes the end of summer a little more palatable than a slew of amazing films? Grab your favourite scarf and take a look at our lineup of must-see Fall films.

From comedies (Easy A, Megamind, Due Date, Fubar II) to thrillers (Let Me In), dramas (The Town, The Social Network) and the one and only Harry Potter, audiences will be treated to an eclectic mix of cinematic feats in the coming few months and our handy guide makes sure you won’t miss a thing.

We still have to wait until October 1 to find out just what David Fincher (Fight Club, Zodiac) and screenwriter extraordinaire Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing," A Few Good Men) did with the film adaptation of Ben Mezrich's book "The Accidental Billionaires", aka the story of Facebook, but the intriguing trailer (complete with children's chorus singing Radiohead's famous lullabye-esque show-stopper "Creep") and just-released images pretty much guarantee we're in for an unadulterated examination of how one of the internet's biggest social sites redefined the term friend for a whole new generation.

The Social Network stars Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Max Minghella and Rashida Jones.

Check out the photos now!

The 65-year-old Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps star said in an interview with People magazine this week that he expects to make a full recovery after a walnut-sized tumour was found on the base of his tongue in early August.

Douglas is currently undergoing an eight-week course of radiation and chemotherapy in New York. His doctors said there is no evidence that the cancer has spread.

"I'm treating this as a curable disease," he said. "It's a fight. I'll beat this."

Douglas' wife, Oscar-winning actress Catherine Zeta-Jones, said the most difficult part of the whole ordeal has been seeing her husband fatigued "because Michael is never tired."

Former Sexiest Man Alive, current Coolest Man in Hollywood and one-half of the best bro-mance in the business...we can only be talking about George Clooney! And if you're a fan (and who isn't?) then I'm guessing it's no surprise to you that he's got a movie hitting the big screen this weekend, am I right? Fresh off his hilarious cameo at the Emmy Awards this past weekend (where he took home the Bob Hope Humanitarian honour), Clooney takes on the role of Jack - a master assassin with a lengthy track record - in The American!

With his latest foray onto celluloid, we figured it was an opportune time to take a look back at some of his greatest and most popular roles...then have you pick his best! So bone up on your Clooney knowledge then tell us which role you think beats them all!

Clear your dance card and free up the afternoon of Sunday, September 12 because TIFF is hosting a block party. No ticket required as the minds and hearts behind the Toronto International Film Festival fete the opening of their new headquarters - the TIFF Bell Lightbox - with concerts from local psychedelic-country heroes The Sadies, a movie star look-a-like contest and Wizard of Oz-themed family fun activities including a bouncy castle and yellow brick road.

After an official ribbon-cutting kicks off the festivities, hopefully complete with novelty sized scissors, the snazzy new building will be open to the public, who will be treated to film-based art installations, and the aforementioned Essential Cinema exhibition, which boasts items from some of cinema's most iconic works.

Sure, we're known as the place to check out new movies on the big, big screen but now we're here to let you know how to get your entertainment fix at home.
The Cineplex DVD Store boasts over 25,000 titles, from the newest hits to golden oldies, indie fare, comedy discs and even your favourite TV shows. Come back here every Tuesday to find out what new movies are on sale and how many SCENE points you can earn with each purchase. 
So what are you waiting for?
Get your fill of Hollywood at home with this week's list of the hottest DVD and Blu-ray releases. You can thank us later.

We won't bore you with a bone-dry history of how Toronto's festival grew from a local celebration of movies into one of the world's premiere film festivals. Instead, we present 35 random facts — one for each year the Festival has taken place — highlighting TIFF's emergence as a festival heavyweight. From protests to growing crowds to career launches to Oscar-winning, buzzworthy films, the past 35 years have certainly been anything but dry.

Why did the guy who directed vicious comic book adaptation Watchmen, epic action battle flick 300, surreal zombie horror pic Dawn of the Dead and the forthcoming, hyperreal shoot’em-up fantasy Sucker Punch take on a film adaptation of a young adult book series about owls?

Simple - he wanted to make an adventure film. And he did - Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.

Takers debuted with $20.5 million to grab to grab a narrow win over The Last Exorcism, which opened in second-place with $20.4 million, according to final studio numbers Monday.

Based on studio estimates a day earlier, The Last Exorcism had a thin lead over Takers. But the movies switched places once final weekend numbers were released.

After two weekends in the No. 1 spot, Lionsgate's action romp The Expendables slipped to third place with $9.5 million, raising its total to $82 million.

Both Exorcism and Takers debuted well above studio expectations, though the openings were modest compared with most big summer debuts.

Emmy had a split personality this year. Television's annual awards show honoured hot new broadcast comedies "Modern Family" and "Glee," while sticking with more familiar favorites from cable in drama.

"Modern Family" won the Emmy for best comedy in its rookie season. The sweetly uproarious sitcom knit together a gay couple and their adopted daughter, a more traditional bumbling dad and his uptight wife, and a world-weary patriarch with his hot young Latin wife - and became an instant favorite on ABC.

"We are so grateful, we are so thrilled that families are sitting down together to watch a television show," said Steven Levitan, the show's co-creator. "We just want you to know, we just wanted to say we are so happy that you have let us into your families."

Forget everything you think you know about a Drew Barrymore romantic comedy.

Yes, she’s still bubbly, irrepressibly smiley and prone to pulling cute faces but in Going the Distance, slo-mo montages, heavy-handed fantasy and non-stop slapstick have been replaced with sex, drugs and rock and roll as Erin (Barrymore) and Garrett (Justin Long, Barrymore’s on-again/off-again/on-again beau) try to turn a one-night stand into something resembling a relationship with a directness and tendency towards the profane that few would expect from one of Charlie’s Angels.

But with an R-rating in her back pocket, award-winning documentary filmmaker Nanette Burstein (American Teen, The Kid Stays in the Picture) takes the director’s chair for the first time on a feature film and infuses the relatable, off-kilter rom-com with the kind of improvised, naturalistic, adult situations that raunchy funnyman Judd Apatow thrust into the mainstream.

This week in the celebrity spotlight: on-again-off-again twosome Drew Barrymore and Justin Long rack up the frequent flier miles at two premieres for their latest movie together, Going the Distance, while Christina Applegate flaunts her baby bump. Then the giant cast of Scott Pilgrim kick it at the movie's premiere in London. In other celeb news, former American Idol champ Fantasia returns for real while music icon George Michael admits guilt in his latest brush with the law.

Get caught up with all the latest entertainment and celeb news in our 'Celeb Week in Review' - watch it now!

While we're not pulling together or sharing our picks for TIFF's must-see films until next week, I decided to jump the gun a little and let you in on the one Midnight Madness film I'm super stoked to see. If you happened to catch the two intentional clues I dropped in that sentence (because I'm stealthy like that) then you'll be unsurprised to hear my pick is James Gunn's not-your-dad's-superhero-film SUPER.

Why did I pick today to share all this with you, loyal readers? Because the director himself just released the first two images from the movie and what better way to share, am I right? Check out the sneak peeks below then head here to tell us your Midnight Madness must-see film. Share and you could win 2 sets of passes to all 10 MM screenings!

A preliminary hearing ended Thursday with 40-year-old Aretha Wilson, a former model from Ontario, being ordered to face one count of assault with a deadly weapon. DiCaprio was not in attendance.

Wilson allegedly cursed at the Inception star and threw a drinking glass in his face as he was about to leave a 2005 Hollywood Hills party, resulting in a deep cut on his ear and neck that required multiple stitches.